Brian Ortega to Fight Aljamain Sterling in Different Weight Class at This Weekend’s UFC Fight Night

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Brian Ortega is changing weight classes for his next battle.

The 34-tear-old Mexican American American professional mixed martial artist, a former Resurrection Fighting Alliance featherweight champion who now fights for UFC, will now fight Aljamain Sterling in a different weight class at this weekend’s UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Shanghai.

Originally scheduled to in the featherweight division, Ortega (16-4) and Sterling (24-5) will now fight at the 155-pound catchweight limit, after both fighters weighed in at 153 pounds on Friday.

The UFC did not provide a reason for the switch, although it’s well known that Ortega struggles to make the featherweight limit of 145 pounds and has been contemplating a permanent move up.

The nontitle contest is scheduled for five rounds in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night at Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Sterling is a former 135-pound champion who moved to featherweight after his title loss to Sean O’Malley in August 2019. The 36-year-old is working his way to a second UFC belt and is 1-1 in his new weight class. The loss came against No. 1-ranked contender Movsar Evloev in December.

Ortega is 1-3 in his past four appearances, although two of the losses came against undisputed or interim champions in Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez.

Anthony Hernandez to Fight Reinier de Ridder at UFC Fight Night in October

Posted on August 20, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Anthony Hernandez has lined up his next opponent…

The 31-year-old Latino American mixed martial artist will face off against Reinier de Ridder in UFC‘s middleweight division on October 18 as they pair headline UFC Fight Night in Vancouver.

UFC CEO Dana White announced the matchup, just three days after Khamzat Chimaev claimed the middleweight belt over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 in Chicago.

De Ridder (21-2), of the Netherlands, has already had a spectacular 2025. He is 3-0 this year, defeating fan favorite Kevin Holland, super prospect Bo Nickal and former champion Robert Whittaker.

Going back to July 2024, de Ridder, 34, is 5-0 with four finishes.

Hernandez (15-2) has been equally as impressive, with an eight-fight winning streak. Hernandez, nicknamed “Fluffy,” is coming off a performance bonus-worthy showing against Roman Dolidze on Aug. 9.

De Ridder and Hernandez are the Nos. 5 and 6-ranked middleweights, respectively.

The middleweight division will be on full display in the coming months, as No. 2-ranked Nassourdine Imavov will face No. 7-ranked Caio Borralho on September 6.

In addition to the main event, White announced a bantamweight fight between Marlon Vera and Aiemann Zahabi, a middleweight matchup between Holland and Mike Mallott and a women’s flyweight bout.

Aaron Pico to Make UFC Debut Against Lerone Murphy This August

Posted on July 27, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Aaron Pico is preparing to hit The Octagon.

The 28-year-old Latino American mixed martial artist’s highly anticipated debut in the UFC will now take place against Lerone Murphy at UFC 319 in Chicago.

Pico (13-4) was supposed to make his first UFC appearance opposite Movsar Evloev (19-0) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday, but Evloev was forced to withdraw earlier this month.

Pico, a longtime standout at Bellator MMA, publicly asked the UFC to rebook him as soon as possible. His 145-pound bout against Murphy (16-0-1) will serve as the UFC 319 co-main event on August 16 in Chicago.

It’s an interesting change for the entire featherweight division. Pico never held a championship in Bellator but has long been viewed as one of the best fighters in the world outside of the UFC.

Pico was once considered arguably the greatest prospect in MMA history, with extensive accolades in amateur wrestling and boxing.

In Evloev, he would’ve been facing the No. 1-ranked contender in the division. He will now turn his attention to Murphy, who is undefeated but ranked lower than Evloev.

Current featherweight champion Alexander

Deiveson Figueiredo to Fight Cory Sandhagen at UFC Fight Night in Iowa This May

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Deiveson Figueiredo is heading to The Hawkeye State.

The 37-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former UFC flyweight champion will face Cory Sandhagen in a five-round bantamweight fight when UFC Fight Night takes place at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa on May 3.

The event will mark the UFC’s first event in Iowa in 25 years.

Figueiredo (24-4-1) is currently the UFC’s No. 5 ranked bantamweight and is looking to bounce back from a decision loss to former champion Petr Yan in November.

It was his first loss after moving up to bantamweight after losing the flyweight championship to Brandon Moreno in 2023.

He is 3-1 in the division and hopes to move into title contention with a win.

Sandhagen (17-5) is also looking to get back into the win column. He dropped a decision to Umar Nurmagomedov last August, which snapped a three-fight winning streak. Sandhagen is currently ranked as the No. 4 bantamweight by the UFC.

In the co-main event, three-time NCAA Division I national champion Bo Nickal will face former ONE Championship two-division titleholder and the UFC‘s No. 13 ranked middleweight Reinier de Ridder.

Renato Moicano Earns Savage Doctor’s Stoppage Win Over Benoît Saint Denis

Posted on September 29, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Renato Moicano is celebrating a brutal victory…

Behind a savage first-round beating, the 35-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist defeated Benoît Saint Denis by doctor’s stoppage after two rounds on Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Paris.

Moicano denied the rabid fans at the Accor Arena a reason to celebrate, ravaging Saint Denis from the opening bell with vicious ground-and-pound.

Although Saint Denis survived the first round, his face was bloodied and battered with both eyes swelling at a rapid pace.

The Frenchman made a better account for himself in the second round, but the early beating he absorbed had already taken its toll.

With Saint Denis’ right eye swollen shut and his left eye not too far behind, the cageside doctor stepped in before the start of the third round and urged the referee to stop the fight due to Saint Denis’ inability to see out of his right eye.

Moicano (20-5-1 MMA, 12-5 UFC) entered the fight as the UFC‘s No. 11-ranked lightweight and picked up his fourth straight win. Afterward, he sent a message to the lightweight division.

“I want easy money — Paddy Pimblett and Dan Hooker,” Moicano said. “I don’t want fights that are tough, I want easy fights. I just beat a hell of an athlete. Everybody was talking about Benoît Saint Denis, but guess what, ‘Money’ Moicano is the man tonight.”

A loud and supportive crowd had been festive the entire night until Moicano’s stunning opening round. Moicano opened the fight as the aggressor and swooped in for a takedown just seconds into the fight. Before Saint Denis could react, Moicano had snaked around to his back, used a body triangle to transition to full mount and slammed elbows and punches into the Frenchman’s head. Accor Arena fell nearly silent as Saint Denis suffocated underneath Moicano’s heavy top control.

Wearing a crimson mask over a face that was quickly turning purple from the bruising, Saint Denis (13-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) sought to change his fortunes in the second round and made a good account for himself with his striking. But Moicano remained patient and worked behind the jab as both of Saint Denis’ eyes began to swell shut.

When Saint Denis returned to his corner, it was clear the damage from the first round had piled up. Saint Denis desperately tried to continue fighting, but the doctor made the call to end the fight when the Frenchman was unable to see.

Saint Denis, who is out of the Bayonne region in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France, has dropped consecutive fights for the first time in his career. He lost by knockout to Dustin Poirier in March and will likely drop in the lightweight rankings after the beating he took from Moicano.

Caio Borralho Defeats Jared Cannonier to Earn UFC Top-Five Ranking

Posted on August 25, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Caio Borralho has burst into the Top Five.

While it’s not easy to break into a top-five ranking in the UFC, but the 31-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist has made it happen in a relatively short time and without a blemish.

Borralho, a contender out of Sao Paulo, Brazil, recorded the biggest win of his career on Saturday, a unanimous decision over former title challenger Jared Cannonier.

The win improved his record in the UFC to 7-0 and immediately inserted his name into the middleweight title picture.

Cannonier was ranked No. 5 in the division going into the UFC Fight Night main event at the Apex in Las Vegas.

“I’ve been having amazing performances in the UFC for a long time, and it’s never been an easy road,” Borralho said. “All of my opponents were tough, and I think they all brought out the best of me in this cage and made me the athlete that I am. … I am the new face [of the division]. On Tuesday, I want to see my name ranked in the top five.”

All three judges scored the fight for Borralho: 49-45, 49-45 and 48-46. It was a convincing victory for the Brazilian, but it wasn’t an easy one. Cannonier, who turned 40 this year, hurt Borralho multiple times. He shot a stiff right hand through Borralho’s guard in the fourth, opening a cut under his right eye.

Borralho took it all in stride, however, and outlanded Cannonier in total strikes 141-84, according to UFC Stats.

Borralho bothered him with leg kicks in the opening minutes, so much that Cannonier switched his stance as early as the first round. Borralho put an exclamation point on the performance in the fifth, dropping Cannonier with a left hand and nearly finishing him with strikes on the ground.

It was another stellar performance by an athlete out of the Fighting Nerds gym in Sao Paulo, which has been steadily gaining notice over the past year.

Carlos Prates, another one of its students, became the first man to ever knock out Li Jingliang last week at UFC 305.

“We study this game a lot and put all of our soul into this game,” Borralho said. “Everything is on the line for us. … Everybody that sees [the gym’s trademark reading glasses] must be afraid. We are the Fighting Nerds and we’re coming to take over.”

Borralho, who signed with the UFC in 2021 after winning twice on Dana White‘s Contender Series, wasted no time calling for defending champion Dricus Du Plessis.

Alex Perez Scores Knockout of Matheus Nicolau

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Alex Perez remains in the title hunt…

The 32-year-old Mexican American mixed martial artist scored a scintillating second-round knockout of Matheus Nicolau in a battle of flyweights jockeying for title contention on Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night at the UFC Apex.

Ranked No. 8 by the UFC, Perez (25-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) stepped into the main event picture after Manel Kape had to pull out of the bout with a rib injury.

Perez put a dramatic halt to a three-fight skid, using a high-volume approach to eventually break through Nicolau’s guard and sink him with a thudding right hand at the 2:16 mark in the second round.

Perez was the busier fighter early on with constant movement and feints. Nicolau, the UFC’s No. 5-ranked flyweight entering the night, remained composed in the opening frame and defended well as Perez routinely launched into multi-punch combinations.

Perez managed to get through with a few body shots and a leg kick before Nicolau got his attention with a counter left hand.

But the sheer amount of activity kept Nicolau on his back foot and without an answer to Perez’s salvos.

Perez kept the volume going in the second round as Nicolau attempted to counter and close the distance. A short right hand clipped the Brazilian and sent him stumbling backward. Perez immediately went for the finish as he rushed forward and launched into another violent barrage of punches as Nicolau’s back was up against the fence. A right hand slipped through and caught the Brazilian flush, immediately crumpling him along the cage wall.

“It feels amazing,” Perez said following the victory. “Everyone counted me out after three losses.”

Perez, who was coming off a loss to Muhammad Mokaev in March, was originally slated to face Tagir Ulanbekov on June 15 but took the opportunity to climb back into the top of the division with a higher-ranked opponent. It was a significant risk, but Perez was up for the challenge and cashed out in a major way.

“I tell people I don’t get paid to sit on the couch, I get paid to fight and this is the reason why,” he said about taking the fight on three weeks’ notice. “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.”

Nicolau (19-5-1, 7-3 UFC) has dropped two in a row, both by knockout, after going on a four-fight winning streak. Saturday marked his first fight since a knockout loss to Brandon Royval last April.

With the win, Perez will keep a close eye on next week’s flyweight bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg at UFC 301. While a title fight might not be next, a victory of this magnitude will almost certainly land him a fight with title implications in the near future.

Alexandre Pantoja to Make Second Title Defense Against Steve Erceg at UFC 301

Posted on March 16, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Alexandre Pantoja is going on the defensive again…

The 33-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and UFC flyweight champion will make his second title defense against Steve Erceg at UFC 301 on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro.

UFC did not specify whether the 125-pound bout will headline the pay-per-view event.

UFC 301 will take place inside Farmasi Arena in the promotion’s first trip to Rio de Janeiro since January 2023.

Pantoja (27-5) was expected to appear on the card from the moment it was announced. He was born in Rio de Janeiro but has not fought in Brazil in his 14-fight UFC career. He trains out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. ESPN.com ranks Pantoja the No. 7 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Erceg (12-1) has seemingly emerged out of nowhere to claim the No. 1 contender spot. Fighting out of Perth, Australia, Erceg signed with UFC midway through last year. He is 3-0 in UFC, with two wins by decision and one finish — a TKO against Matt Schnell earlier this month at a UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas.

Erceg, 28, has eight career finishes in 12 wins, including six by submission.

Jailton Almeida to Now Face Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night in November

Posted on October 10, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jailton Almeida has locked in a new opponent…

The 32-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist will face off against Derrick Lewis in a UFC heavyweight battle next month.

Almeida was originally schedule to fight Curtis Blaydes in the main event fight before Lewis was selected to replace him.

Lewis (27-11) just signed a new deal after fighting out his contract in July. The new heavyweight matchup will headline UFC Fight Night on November 4 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Almeida and Lewis are currently ranked as the Nos. 9 and 10 heavyweights, respectively, by UFC. Lewis is far more established, having fought in the UFC since 2014, and he holds the record for most knockouts in the promotion’s history.

Almeida (19-2), however, comes in riding a wave of momentum. He is 4-0 in the UFC with four finishes, three of which came in the opening round. Most recently, he submitted Jairzinho Rozenstruik in May.

Current heavyweight champion Jon Jones is scheduled to defend his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November.

If Almeida wins, he would enter title contention, along with Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall.

Deiveson Figueiredo to Make Bantamweight Debut in December

Posted on September 24, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Deiveson Figueiredo is movin’ on up…

The 35-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist will make his long-awaited move up to bantamweight before the end of the year.

The former two-time UFC flyweight champion will face Rob Font in a contender bout at UFC Fight Night on December 2.

Figueiredo was first scheduled to return to flyweight over the summer, but he withdrew due to injury and decided to move up a division.

ESPN has Figueiredo ranked No. 4 in the world at flyweight and Font ranked No. 10 at bantamweight.

Figueiredo (21-3-1) has not fought since losing the flyweight title to Brandon Moreno via TKO last January at UFC 283. He went 1-2-1 against Moreno in their tetralogy. Figueiredo is tied with Demetrious Johnson for the most finishes in UFC flyweight history (7).

Font (20-7) is coming off a unanimous decision loss to top contender Cory Sandhagen on August 5. The 36-year-old Massachusetts native has dropped three of four.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: UFC Fight Night